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Spokane Resident Remembers 2018 Selma March With John Lewis

Courtesy of Kitara Johnson

The world is mourning the death of Georgia Congressman John Lewis. Among those grieving are a small group of Spokane residents who accompanied Lewis on a pilgrimage in Selma, Alabama two years ago.

Every year, thousands gather to commemorate the 1965 march led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, Lewis and other civil rights leaders and to remember the violent resistance they encountered from law enforcement.

In March 2018, Spokane resident Phil Tyler was part of a small delegation led by Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. They joined Lewis to relive the event.

“First of all, I was able to be on the front row. There was John Lewis, locked arm-in-arm with our congresswoman. There was little old Phil Tyler, locked arm-in-arm with our congresswoman. There was, I believe, Susan Brooks, a representative from Virginia, locked arm-in-arm with Val Demings," Tyler said.

That’s the Democratic congresswoman from Florida.

“And we’re walking down the streets of Selma and my heart is pounding and it’s hot and I’m sweating, but I don’t think it’s from the heat," Tyler said.

There was a large number of dignitaries, including about 30 congressional members. Security was tight.

“And, at one part in the journey, a gentleman broke through and was reaching out to shake the representative’s hand, John Lewis. Several plain clothes officers scooped the gentleman up and John Lewis said, ‘Please, be kind. Be gentle. He just wants to shake my hand.’ And they were like, ‘Sir, we’ve got to make sure you’re safe and the party.’ He said, ‘I understand that, but be kind.’ And so they let him down briefly. He shook the representative’s hands and they scooped him up and moved him out of the way. But that’s the kind of man that John Lewis is," Tyler said.

The march neared the now-famous Edmund Pettis Bridge.

“John would tell stories. Excuse me, John Lewis, would tell stories as he marched along and he said, ‘Right here is where X and Y and Z happened and over here…’ and we would just be like, in awe, our eyes wide and hope the cameras didn’t catch us looking silly.

"I luckily had my sunglasses on because my eyes were tearing up. It wasn’t because I was sad. It was just overcome by the emotion of 53 years ago people lost their lives marching down this path and we are lucky enough, blessed enough to be alongside of an individual that was doing it 53 years ago," he said.

That’s Spokane resident Phil Tyler, remembering a few minutes with the late Congressman John Lewis.